Portofino Beach Resort-An Authentic Island Escape!

Portofino Beach Resort is such a wonderful oasis! The grounds are immaculately kept, the staff is super attentive and nice! Food at the restaurant is also amazing! This resort is also super close to Secret Beach! Looking forward to coming back here in the future!

My husband and I spent 10 days here. Beautiful area, very intimate, quiet environment. Wonderful restaurant and great food. The bed was a little soft for our taste, but the separate Casita accommodations are island authentic and amazing. Very romantic. Can’t say enough about the staff. We rename them after Cheers, Sam- Steven Woody- Carlos, and Carla - Ms P were amazing.

We were so very happy with our vacation at Portofino Beach Resort. The resort itself is a gem with a beautiful pool, delicious restaurant & bar, comfortable accommodations, and stunning views! But, the best part is the staff. Every one of them made us feel welcome and treated us like family. I can honestly say that I miss the people as much as the location now that I’m back in the frigid north. We would return in a heartbeat!

I will start by saying that the property is beautiful and if you don't mind a very bumpy golf cart ride it's fairly easy to get to from the airport. The staff is friendly and by the end of our stay I was sad that I had to leave them. Marco and Evelyn are gems! The cabanas could use some updates. Not a deal breaker but the site is too nice to not look top notch. We stayed in Cabana 3 and I definitely would NOT recommend this unit. It was nice enough but so LOUD! It's impossible to go to bed before 10 0r 11 because the bar and restaurant (right next door) do not close until 9-ish and the talking is very loud and add to that the kitchen staff washing pots and pans and talking... UGH. Our friends stayed in Cabana 5 and it was much more quiet. Our lovely kitchen staff also is back to work bright and early- like 6ish. Same talking and dishes and moving furniture. It was impossible to sleep in. I'm from California so that was super early. I would love to go back but if I had to stay in Cabana 3 or even 4, I would not stay.

This is a lovely little beachside resort on Ambergris Caye. It tends to be quiet rather than active and noisy, so if you're looking for a lot of "action, you might be happier closer to San Pedro. We stayed in both a poolside cabana and a treehouse, and both were very nice: well-appointed and well kept. The treehouse is much more spacious, with a big private deck with chaise and a hammock. There's a nice pool that tends to be quiet too: on only one of our six days were all of the lounge chairs occupied. On one day a small group of children played in the pool all day. The restaurant occupies a second-story terrace overlooking the beach, and the food there was really good. I think that it's the kind of place that locals might come for a special dinner out. It's open nearly all day, and there are also snacks at the bar, so it's easy to fit meals into your schedule. Many reviews mention the friendly and helpful staff, and there's good reason for that. Everyone was relaxed and helpful. A big plus for the resort is the dive/snorkel company located at the end of their dock. Two young guys, Chris and Emel, have very recently taken over the location, now called Carpe Diem. I think that the resort's website may still list a different company. I can't recommend Carpe Diem highly enough. We went on two snorkeling trips with them, one to Mexico Rocks, and one to Hol Chan, and both trips were amazing. Boat captain Chris and guide Emel work hard to make sure that you see everything there is to see, and that you're comfortable in every way. And now the beach. A drawback for this location--not just this resort--is the sargassum seaweed that floats in to shore and up onto the beach. The resort has people raking it up and carting it away every day, but it's still floating in the water, for about ten feet out. On one day, the wind changed, and al of the sargassum disappeared. But the next day it was back. For this reason, not many people venture into the ocean. You can walk up and down the shoreline, but you won't be walking on a beach with lapping ocean water. Most properties are fronted by a low seawall or else the mats of sargassum, so you'll walk on ground just above the seawalls or the sargassum. In spite of the sargassum, I'd still highly recommend Portofino. It's a lovely, well-kept spot with a nice pool, attractive accommodations, good dining, and super staff. If you really want to go out into the ocean, you can wade past the seaweed. Fun fact: there's a grackle that hangs out in a big tree by the bar who sings and whistles and mimics a car alarm!

Beautiful hotel property in Ambergris Caye north of San Pedro town. My partner and I spent 4 nights at Portofino Hotel and opted for the all inclusive package since the hotel was so far from the town center. Drinks and food were delicious; the menu was heavy on the seafood which makes sense given the location. Couldn't swim at the beach at the resort due to the seagrass, which is unfortunate. New on-site dive shop Carpe Diem was excellent and convenient. "Seahorse" suite was large and comfortable. Staff was attentive, helpful and non-obtrusive.